MP - a little faster but still kind of slow on last two reps.
I noticed I flew through workout pretty fast today. I tried something new: I had a bowl of cereal and a protein shake before leaving the house which is more than an hour before my workout.

After some time off I've gotten back into my routine about 5 weeks ago. The first four weeks I was getting readjusted, so I've posted the stats for this past week below. I've only posted the stats for my core exercises; I figure the auxiliary exercises and cardio is immaterial as long as the weight for my core exercises goes up. If I need to, I can post them.

My squat got a little too high, and I wasn't breaking parallel on the way down, so I put an aerobic step underneath me to ensure I would go low enough with the weight and lowered the weight to ensure I got my sets in.

For my squat, I paid closer attention. I pushed my butt out and started to sit before my knees moved. I used an aerobic step to ensure I was going down to below parallel. I am flexible enough, so should I remove one of the levels in the aerobic step to get a deeper squat? If I do, I know I will have to adjust the weight.

The position for the pendlay and the light weight made it difficult to do the hyp set (last set at high reps).

I would also like suggestions on cutting my time down with my overall workout. I know my core exercises (big 3) take about an hour, my auxes take an additional 15 or so and then my cardio takes 45 min putting my time at just over 2hrs. Could subing GPP for cardio on workout days be better? Should I move my cardio to off days?!?

I'm 6'0", 237lbs with 19% body fat - I have a rather large gut. My goal is to increase strength and loss body fat.

I think, not sure, the squat was deeper this time than last time. I believe the aerobic step had one more level to it last time. The weight for the squat felt like a lot especially coming back up from the depth. It took me just over an hour to get through my core then another 20 minutes or so for the aux's. I cut the cardio out...

Squat - my recovery between sets was quicker.
OP - On the first set, I stopped at 4 because I "thought" I wouldn't make the 5th rep; hit it on the second set - not sure what happened on the 3rd set.
Pendlay - was all messed up; Hard to pull the weight all the way up to my chest. I know I need to work on my form...

Should I attempt the 110lbs on OP on Monday or back up to 105 and hit it one or two more times before moving up? How should I go about backing off Pendlay to get form correct? Would this be considered a reset or I just went up to fast with the weights?

Squat: Moving up nicely.
BP: I chickened out on 5th rep of 3rd set since I didn't have a spotter. I will be going to 175lbs on Monday since I did 5,5,4.
DL: 315lbs is no longer the heaviest I lifted. I lifted 325lbs today....

I do feel soreness in my lower back. Probably from hitting it with the squat & deadlift. I did some stretches and had my wife message it a little.

Squats still going up nicely. Military Press is obviously hitting a sticking point. This was my second attempt at 110lbs (Wednesday & today). Should I back off a bit and then come back up? Pendlay form was better with the lower weight; will be starting with 125 on Friday.

Squats still going up nicely. Military Press is obviously hitting a sticking point. This was my second attempt at 110lbs (Wednesday & today). Should I back off a bit and then come back up? Pendlay form was better with the lower weight; will be starting with 125 on Friday.

Squat: Moving up nicely.
BP: I chickened out on 5th rep of 3rd set since I didn't have a spotter. I will be going to 175lbs on Monday since I did 5,5,4.
DL: 315lbs is no longer the heaviest I lifted. I lifted 325lbs today....

I do feel soreness in my lower back. Probably from hitting it with the squat & deadlift. I did some stretches and had my wife message it a little.

I've learned a bit from the last time I made a go at weight training. Now, I'm focusing on learning nutrition. If anyone could provide or point me in the direction of a sample menu that I can use and adapt to my tastes, I'd GREATLY appreciate it.

Squat: 3x5 @ 185 - I lowered the weight due to new position. The new position is really uncomfortable (low bar position as I've been doing it in the top position). There's extreme stretching in my back, arms and wrists. I want to continue performing squats with the new position. How do I do this properly until I can get myself properly stretched out?

MP: 3x4 @ 110 - personal best and focusing on form.

Pendlay: 3x5 @ 140 - new personal best; no issues that I'm aware of.

1 set of 8 each of Dips, Back Extensions (Fitlinxx machine) and NS situps followed work out and 30 minutes of walking on treadmill while downing a shake. I did light walking, and it felt good.

The only problem I have right now is getting the right stretch to maintain new squat position without the discomfort.

Here are pictures of bar position for my squat. Apparently, I believe I was trying to set it too low previously. This week was much better with squatting. I've noticed that with squeezing upper back and deep breath before starting, it seems to working my lower back more than before.

Let me know if these are clear enough to determine whether the bar is too high or just right. This weeks stats are:

Tues:Squat: 3x5 @ 205 lbsBench: 3x5 @ 180 - this was personal best. The bar moved slow, and I am wondering if I need to go up by 5 as I have been or go up 2.5.DL: 1x5 @ 275Dips: 1x8 w/ 112 assist; felt a lot easier than previous sets.Pulldowns: 1x8 @ 50lbsBackExt: 1x8 @ 50lbs

Should I give my MP one more shot at 110 or back off just a little and try again?

Edit: How's that? The original photo showed the right orientation when I saved it; not sure why it turned. I saved it to the lowest size possible for original post and to the allowed size; didn't not see that it was that big. I found the sizing tool this time. Curious - how did you post to my journal directly?

Attachments:

Squated.jpg [ 20.45 KiB | Viewed 4712 times ]

Squat.jpg [ 24.03 KiB | Viewed 4712 times ]

Last edited by slw0096 on Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:48 am, edited 2 times in total.

Squat: 3x5 @ 225; realized when I was going up a few weeks ago, form on the higher weight was a bit wobbly for the last couple of reps, and I didn't pay attention to that fact and still went up on my weight. I will be paying more attention making sure each rep is the same with respect to form before moving up.

BP: 5, 3, 0 @ 185; 1st attempt at this & personal best. If I hit it next time, then I'll continue as is; if I miss, I will attempt again and start moving up by 2.5lbs rather than 5lbs.

DL: 1x5 @ 300; nice & smooth

Back Ext: 2x8 @ 50lbs - just to get a good stretch. I have to use a sitting machine rather than the standing version.Dips: 2x8 w/ 112lbs assistAb Pulldowns: 2x15 @ 50lbs

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Yahoo [Bot] and 2 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum